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Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Top 25 Best TV Shows Currently Streaming on Netflix*

THE TOP 10 BEST T.V. DRAMAS CURRENTLY STREAMING ON NETFLIX*

10) Lost (2004-2010) (ABC)

Created By: J.J. Abrams

Showrunners: Damon Lindelof & Jeffrey Leiber

GRADE: B-Seasons Available to Stream: 6

Brief Description: The first 2 seasons of the show are great, and frankly, if you stropped there, you'd be fine. The show kind of goes off the rails after Season 3, but overall, a great show to finally catch up on if you missed it when it originally aired.

9) Heroes (2006-2010) (NBC)

Created By: Tim Kring

GRADE: B-Seasons Available to Stream: 4

Brief Description: With the Heroes Reborn mini-series coming out in 2015, you should catch up on the original show today. The first season is by far the best season, and even though creator Tim Kring does have a problem with finales, and if you completely throw out the second season which was marred by the writer's strike, then you get a solid show.

Brief Description:While Marvel may have a stranglehold on superhero movies, DC Comics is going to rule the airwaves. With a Constantine, The Flash, and Gotham T.V. shows soon to be released thanks to the success of Arrow, I can't wait to see superheroes on the small screen.

7) House of Cards (2013-current) (Netflix)

Created By: Beau Willimon

GRADE: B+Seasons Available to Stream: 2

Brief Description: The first season of this political drama is excellent, and was one of the best shows of 2013. The second season however? Pretty dreadful. The median of the show seasons equals a B total. While I understand that I am in the small, small minority about not liking Season 2, there's too much good stuff in this show as a whole not to binge watch it.

6) Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) (NBC)

Created By: Paul Fieg

GRADE: A-Seasons Available to Stream: 1

Brief Description: While this brilliant show was only able to air one season, it sure as hell made the most of it. Set in 1980, it paints a vivid picture of the unfortunate aspects of high school without being cliche or melodramatic. Plus, it's fun to see a super young Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and James Franco.

Brief Description: Terriers is another great one season show that aired on the talent rich, yet hardly watched FX channel. The horrible title that makes no sense didn't help either. The show follows a recovering alcoholic and disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator and his partner as they try to undercover the seedy undergoings of their small California town.

Brief Description: The creator of Doctor Who created Sherlock Holmes but for the modern day and with the BBC model. While there's only two seasons up on Netflix (the third one aired at the beginning of this year), each season is only three episodes long, but with each episode being 90 minutes long.

3) Orange Is The New Black (2013-current) (Netflix)Created By: Jenji KohanGRADE: ASeasons Available to Stream: 1 (Season 2 will be released June 6)

Brief Description: Last year, the television critics rated OITNB as the second best show of an incredibly deep year. It's certainly helped by the fact that it only has one season (the second season of House of Cards is the reason that show isn't higher on this list), but it's also helped by the fact that the show is amazing. Based on the book by the same name (but MUCH better), the show follows Piper Chapman as she spends 15 months in a minimal security federal prison.

Brief Description: Easily the best written show of all time, Mad Men follows manly-man Don Draper (Jon Hamm), a powerful ad executive of a firm on Madison Avenue, as he travels through the strange time in American that was the 1960's.

Brief Description: Hand down, without any doubt in my mind, Breaking Bad is the greatest television show that has ever existed in the history of man kind. I will not rest until everyone in the world watched Breaking Bad. And now, all 62 episodes are available on Netflix. Gilligan always said he wanted a show that, "turns Mr. Chips into Scarface". He most certainly did that with mild mannered chemistry genius Walter White (Bryan Cranston)

BONUS: Dramas I've heard are great by have not actually watched yet
- 24
- Awake
- Damages
- Friday Night Lights
- Parenthood (I've seen a handful of episodes and I enjoy it a lot)
- Sons of Anarchy
- Top Of The Lake
- Twin Peaks
- The West Wing
- The X Files

THE TOP 15 BEST COMEDIES CURRENTLY STREAMING ON NETFLIX*

15) Arrested Development (2003 -2013) (FOX/Netflix)

Created By: Mitchell Hurwitz

GRADE: CSeasons Available to Stream: 4

Brief Description: Arrested Development is probably the smartest comedy ever written and a show that everyone who watches (which isn't very many people) adores. Except for me. I personally was not a big fan of the show, but since I'm in the minority of "1", and this list is mainly dedicated to bringing people underrated gems, I'm obligated by law to recommend it.

Brief Description: Described as a real life "Homer Simpson", the creators of "The Office" take their friend Karl Pilkington and send him all over the world to places that he's extremely uncomfortable with.

12) That 70's Show (1998-2006) (FOX)Created By: Bonnie and Terry TurnerGRADE: BSeasons Available to Stream: 8

Brief Description: Seriously? Do you not know anything about "That 70's Show"? Solid show, and worth a look at every now and then.

Brief Description: Scrubs was the last of a dying era: successful, funny sitcoms airing on NBC. That's not to say NBC haven't been funny since (just like a look at #1 and #2 on this list), but the success of NBC's Thursday night line up has been replaced by Modern Family and FOX's Tuesday night line up. Scrubs was, and still remains, a great and funny show though.

10) The League (2009-current) (FX)Created By: Jeff and Jackie SchafferGRADE: B+Seasons Available to Stream: 4

Brief Description: A show that's almost completely improv works great as a bunch of friends who play in a fantasy football league together do the worst things possible to each other.

Brief Description: The first five seasons of the show are excellent, and feel free to stop watching the show after then. Or you can just check out my list of the 10 Best How I Met Your Mother Episodes and be done with it.

Brief Description: Similar to HIMYM, The Office has some great seasons, and some below average ones. But when they're great, they're excellent. In fact, you can pin point the exact episode The Office became terrible- it's Episode 6 of Season 6- the episode immediately following Jim and Pam's wedding. It's an episode entitled "Mafia" and it's awful. Luckily, the show picks up again in Season 7 for the Michael Scott Farewell Tour when Steve Carell decided to leave the show to star in terrible movies, but for the moments he's on the show, it's pretty darn good.

Brief Description: At the time it seemed like an odd move for Zooey Deschanel, a borderline movie star, to go do TV. This was a move normally dedicated to movie actors who stopped finding work in movies, but Deschanel did not seem to be on that path (maybe she was and we didn't know it). However, no matter what her motive was, it's great news for us, because we get to watch her in an excellent TV show.

Brief Description: The best way to describe It's Always Sunny is that the show is a warped and darker version of Seinfeld. The plots are similar in that nothing really happens to a group of friends, except in It's Always Sunny, the group of friends become addicted to crack, adopt a baby they found in the dumpster, and fights against gay marriage because a transexual won't date them. I never said it was nice, but it is hilarious. Plus, very few shows are able to be consistently funny for as long as It's Always Sunny has been.

Brief Description: From the creator of Dr. Katz and Home Movies comes The Simpsons for the millennials (even though the millennials DO have The Simpsons, they don't have the glory days of Season 2-10 like what we grew up with). Unfortunately, you can only get the shows first 2 seasons streaming on Netflix, but those seasons are worth binge watching when you're bored one weekend.

Brief Description: I think when history unfurls itself, Tina Fey will go down as the best comedy writer of this generation. She wrote the excellent Mean Girls, some great sketches on Saturday Night Live, the wonderful book BossyPants, and of course one of the best sitcoms ever- 30 Rock.

Brief Description: After giving it this much thought, I have decided that Parks and Recreation is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. I like it better than 30 Rock and, as a whole, much better than The Office. No other show consistently makes me laugh while caring as much about the characters as I do on Parks and Rec. Even after 6+ seasons, the show is one of the best ever.

BONUS: I've seen 4 episodes of FXX's "Legit" currently streaming on Netlfix, and it's great

*That I've Seen

What is your favorite TV show that you can currently stream on Netflix?